Long time no update - So I'll make it a long post!

 Sorry for the long delay in updating here.  There has been a lot going on and we are gearing up for even more activity over the next month.

So what has been happening?  Well, the fun never stops that is for sure.  Work activities aside we have been doing a decent amount of work around the house, but you'd never know by looking at it.  A few weeks back we had a tree fall on the house.  Luckily, there was no Major damage, just some gutters that still need to be put back up and a couple of scratches, and dents.  The only real damage luckily was to my awesome Weber grill.  Poor guy had a wheel bent over that now needs replaced, but with the weight of a large tree on him it is impressive that he just has a tiny dent otherwise and works like brand new.  I'm no product spokesman for Weber, but they make an excellent, tough grill that lasts.  Can't say that about my last Sams Club grill that rusted out completely in 3 years despite only moderate use. 

We've also had company.  First Karen's mom visited, then her best friend, and soon her mom will be back for trip #2 after which we will be following her back to Michigan with Chappy to kick off our trip back to AZ!

Speaking of AZ, we are due to check in on Halloween day this year.  I can't wait to get started!  Even with COVID, we have some great plans this year to do some awesome hikes and visits to out of the way lesser known attractions.  More to come on this later.

COVID has really put a kibosh on some of our normal activities.  We've only been to our weekly brunch restaurant twice this year and it's killing me.  I so want to go back, but we just don't feel comfortable doing that.  Instead, we've spent EVERY weekend this summer visiting Chappy out at our summer campground, and we will continue to do so until we leave for AZ.

Even going to the campground requires vigilance and a TON of patience.  I'm not going to "wax political" but social distancing rules are there for a reason.  You'd think with the amount of elderly people out at our campground people would exercise more caution.  Even more so since a couple of them have already succumb to COVID, but there are many who just don't care for whatever reason.  It's sad and terribly hard for a campground owner to enforce.  The campground owners have done a terrific job of posting signs, limiting visitors (people visiting people at the campground, not short term campers), keeping the public bathrooms closed, playgrounds closed etc, however, some short term campers we've noticed have come in groups of 20+, split over multiple campsites where they all merge into a horde.  I like to sit back and observe.

It's not just the short term campers either, many of the younger seasonal campers congregate in groups albeit smaller groups of maybe 10-15.  I've had friendly conversation with some of them and without even mentioning COVID or anything like that I've learned some things that I didn't know before.  Very friendly and nice people, but these are a few of the "Facts" Ive picked up.  You use your best judgement to determine if they are correct or not:

1.  COVID is not real.  This one came from a conversation were I was told "I tested positive for COVID back in April and only had a bad cough for a week or two.  If it was real why am I not dead or in the hospital?"  I sense some cognitive dissonance here, but I'm glad he's alright.  He tested positive for a disease that doesn't exist, had symptoms, but it's not real.  I tend to think maybe this is a coping mechanism to try to seemingly gain back some control over the situation but that is just my theory and I have just as much evidence to support my theory as this gentleman. 

2.  COVID is a punishment from G-d for gay people.  While this one acknowledges the existence of COVID it's a stretch to think that G-d would punish old people more for something most of them don't tolerate well themselves as a group.  I won't speak for G-d myself, so you decide.

3.  COVID is a tool being used to keep my political views from being heard.  This despite the multiple flags, bumper stickers, t-shirts, hat's and signs they have around their campsite and on their person.  I'm not sure I can sign up for this one as it would imply the ENTIRE world is in on restricting individual free speech.  But hey, we all believe some weird sh-t.  I have an irrational belief that what t-shirt I wear determines how may day will go.  I have no evidence to support it, but I'm not giving up wearing my ratty old work t-shirt on Fridays despite knowing full well it makes no difference.

4.  COVID will disappear after election day.  I've heard it was going to disappear back in March, again in April, and now November.  Maybe they are right?  I don't know but I don't have any evidence to support that claim.  I also don't have any evidence to support my belief that mexican pizza will be back on the taco bell menu in November either, just a great hope.

I only bring all of this up to say, that even now, we don't know a lot about COVID and everyone has their theories on its existence or the level of it's severity.  The one fact that I do know is that I don't want to roll the dice on this one.  I don't handle being sick with a mild cold well.  I get really cranky.  So even if COVID was "just like the common cold", another Fact I've picked up, I don't want to chance getting it or giving it to someone else.  I'll do what I can to avoid that and if you're in the same boat as I am maybe you want to avoid it as well.  So I've compiled some tips for traveling and camping that can help.

1.  Bring your own food.  Stopping at a restaurant is usually not fun with a tow vehicle anyway when you are traveling, but even when you get to your camping destination, having your own food limits your exposure to people in restaurants and stores.  The less exposure to others, the less the risk.

2.  If you have a bathroom in your RV, use that instead of a truck stop or rest area bathroom.  Once again, less exposure to people or where people have been recently lessens the risk.

3.  Select a campsite away from playgrounds, dog parks, and other high traffic areas.  Sense a theme yet?  Having a campsite near these areas during normal times can be great!  It makes it easier to meet people, interact with kids, and pet the cute puppies not to mention it can be more convenient if you have kids or dogs to be near where they would normally play.  However people spread COVID so the less interaction the lower the risk.

4.  Bring extra gloves and masks.  Call me paranoid if you want, but I've kept a box of gloves in my truck for years.  First and foremost to use at the pump because diesel pumps are usually cruddy and I don't like smelling of fuel for hours while driving, but also because I've seen people wipe their nose with their hands and grab the pump handle straight away.  Even in the best of times I don't want diesel or worse yet, somebody else's mucus monster all over my hands.

5.  Keep hand sanitizer handy.  Karen and I each have our own small bottle in the truck.  When we head to the store to resupply, we sanitize our hands as soon as we get back to the truck.  I realize stores have been doing a LOT in an attempt to mitigate risks and I appreciate that, but continually wiping carts etc. only goes so far.  We often touch other things that aren't wiped down without even thinking about it.  Leaning on endcaps while the wife looks at clothes, using the pin pad at the checkout if you have to, or even mindlessly touching your own mask are all examples of things we do that we don't always think about.

6.  Don't use cash and try to use contactless payment methods.  I mentioned it in the previous point, but I bring this up again because there are some wonderful payment methods out there that work fantastic!  I personally LOVE the Samsung Pay app.  With this you link your credit cards to the app and you can use your phone or Samsung Watch to pay without touching a thing.  Even better it mimics the magnetic stripe in the card so you can use it almost EVERYWHERE even places that say they don't do apple pay etc.  You should see the looks on peoples faces when I use it at a backwoods corner store.

7.  Insurance.  This one may not make sense right away with just that word so let me explain.  If you have insurance on your RV it may contain provisions for trip interruption and emergency health expenses while you travel.  My regular Geico insurance has some of that, but so does the AAA we keep on the truck, and the GoodSam we still have on the truck and trailer.  Read your policies and find out what they offer.  You probably don't need both GoodSam and AAA, neither do we, but we are waiting for one to expire.  If you get sick on the road, or your campground closes before or during your stay, you may be able to get help to complete your trip or be reimbursed for some of your costs.

8.  Contain your activities.  By this I mean, stay away from large groups.  It looks like we might not be going to the Tucson rodeo this next spring.  Instead, we are planning activities that limit our exposure to others.  Things to do could include, lesser used hiking trails, visiting out of the way attractions in small towns (some of the most fun places I've visited have been these), maybe wine tasting at a remote vineyard, or taking the kids to swim in a lake or stream where you have access away from crowds. Yes, many places are limiting capacity, cutting down on the number of attractions, etc to reduce risk and that is great, but remember that employees can't be everywhere at once and some people have wildly different views about the risk to themselves or others.  Take responsibility for yourself and your family and do what you feel is safest.

9.  Wear a mask when you are around others not in your immediate group.  Ok, I know this one is controversial but I for one am puzzled as to why that is.  I guess for me it's never been a big deal.  I wear them in my wood shop.  I wear one when I mow in the spring.  When one of us thinks we have the flu and we go to the doctor, we've always worn a mask.  I've heard all of the excuses I can hear on this point and to me they don't add up.  I can usually either attribute them to someones political views or like my theory above, a coping mechanism in an attempt to seemingly gain control over something I have no control over. I guess if you don't want to wear one and your not in a place that requires it, it is your choice, but then it's also my choice to not be around you and if I am I'm wearing a mask for your safety and mine.

10.  Don't let fear dominate your life, but let safety guide your decisions.  Ok, this one is very important.  We cancelled our annual Gettysburg trip this year, and some people think it was all because of COVID.  that is not the case.  There were a lot of reasons like friends cancelling, limits on what we could do that cut out some of the main reasons for going etc.  I didn't want to spend 2 weeks at my campsite in quarantine when I was on vacation from work.  People have asked if we are going to AZ this year with COVID going on, and some have been surprised by my answer of "HELL YES!".   Even if we have to quarantine for two weeks when we get there, I'm not concerned because we are planning accordingly.  We have checked as many boxes as we reasonably can to make sure our trip is safe for us and those that interact with us.  We exercise caution and make sure we have things we need (extra food, masks, gloves, hand sanitizer etc).  However even if we just sit around our campfire while quarantined we are out of the house and enjoying a change in scenery.  We are planning safer activities than ones we've done previously, but that also helps to check off some boxes we already had, and forces us to be creative and experience some things we may not have otherwise.  We still meet people and talk with them even *gasp* sometimes when we aren't wearing a mask.  We just use common sense, keep our distance, limit exposure to outdoors where possible, and definitely wear a mask indoors with others or where it is required.  If you've read this blog you know that pre-COVID brunch was a good way to get me out of the house, and now, without brunch, we go out to visit Chappy instead to get away.  Don't let all of the bad news stop you from doing "Stuff" use common sense, do the simple things that have been proven to help, and maybe alter the "Stuff" you do based on safety.  You wont find me at Disney or a concert this year, but I might go visit a small art gallery, a small town museum, or explore a lesser traveled area of a state or national park.

Have fun everyone and stay safe!